[mythtv-users] Sell mythtv "set-top" boxes

[MythTV]

This is an interesting discussion thread. I would guess that there a lots of
technically capably people willing to buy a preconfigured, open source linux
based "Media" box.

I think the collective group of people here would greatly benefit from the
shared experience of all of us that have hacked together a MythTV box, so I
would like to gather the responses from people on configurations :

1) Best Celeron mobo with (full-duplex) integrated audio and accelerated
2D/3D?

2) Best Duron/XP mobo with (full-duplex) integrated audio and accelerated
2D/3D?

3) IR Transmitter and Receiver configurations (cheapest)?
    * IRDA chip or GPIO controlled custom circuits will probably fit the
bill

4) Cheapest/Best (stable) Tuner/MPEG encoder/decoder board?

I have built 4 different MythTV boxes each with it's own issues, and my best
(bang for your buck) system runs around $350 retail. Toss in a DVD-RW to
archive media away, and for ~$550 you've got a decent HTPC.

We don't have to make a business around this. Just arriving at a some
optimally configured systems could really save time for people putting
together their own systems (or providing a starting place for system
builders).

It would be nice to build a custom distro for our Standard box that we could
all collectively build and refine. I would contribute hosting for a project
on TeraMech. I can also have CDs made quite cheaply to distribute distros,
since I wouldn'd want to chew up all my BW.

- Victor

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jon Hoyt" <samika at myrealbox.com>
To: "MythTV List" <mythtv-users at snowman.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 10:02 PM
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Sell mythtv "set-top" boxes


> You could offer a pre-assembled HTPC box in a nice case 'ready to install
> your pvr software of choice'.  Then you could call it 'Myth compatible'
and
> include a Linux distro all set up for Myth on a CD.   The purchaser could
> then install Myth with the understanding they would be supporting it
> themselves, or they could install Windows and Showshifter or any other
> software they wanted.
>
> The Myth user would be getting proven hardware and the knowledge that
there
> were others out there with the same set up, but it would still be a
> 'project' and they would be supporting it themselves.  Your market would
> still be do-it-yourselfers, but much less experience would be necessary to
> get started.  I think there are lots of people out there that would love a
> 'kit' like this.
>
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I don't know if anyone has really brought it up yet, but what with the
> > discussions comparing MythTV to Tivo or ReplayTV, it got me thinking:
> > what if we started selling pre-configured MythTV systems, based on the
> > Pundit or some other small system?
> >
> > The way I see it, there's got to be a market: when it's already set up,
> > MythTV is easy enough for your average joe to use, and once you've
> > bought it, you aren't required to pay a subscription fee to keep using
> > it.
> >
> > I can't see myself making a business out of selling or supporting
> > systems like these, but I'm thinking I could definitely put together a
> > few and make some extra money, enough to actually build a decent system
> > that can handle MythTV well ;)
> >
> > What's everyone else's thoughts on this? I'm thinking that there's
> > plenty enough room for anyone interested in doing this that there
> > wouldn't really be much in the way of competition to deal with, so that
> > we could share our best practices here, or even put together a good
> > HOW-TO, from choosing good hardware to setting up mythTV (and any other
> > modules).
> >
> > Who knows, maybe we could make something of this; or maybe it's just a
> > dream of mine.
> >
> > Adam
> > _______________________________________________
> > mythtv-users mailing list
> > mythtv-users at snowman.net
> > http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> > --
> > This message was sent with an unlicensed evaluation version of
> > Novell NetMail. Please see http://www.netmail.com/ for details.
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users at snowman.net
> http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users